Finance & Trade

ECB Official Seeks Path to Political Integration

September 01, 2015

In recent remarks, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank ("ECB") Benoît Cœuré extolled the continued political and economic integration of EU member states and considered the best ways to convince Europeans of the necessity of a centralized Europe, including by establishing a euro-area finance ministry.
ECB Expresses Concern at Eurozone Divergence

July 30, 2015

In an economic bulletin, the European Central Bank ("ECB") stated that it was "disappointed" with the diverging status of the national economies in the eurozone, a development that defies the expectations of the architects of the euro project.
CIGI Supports Plans for European Banking Union

July 22, 2015

The Centre for International Governance Innovation ("CIGI") has published a paper praising EU proposals for a European Banking Union and arguing that national policies are insufficient to manage cross-border banking activities in Europe.
Economist: Euro Results in "Misery" for Greece, Creditors

July 22, 2015

An article in The Economist argues that, by forcing the Greek Government to agree to stringent reforms and the country's creditors to constantly monitor the country's progress in order to keep it bound to the eurozone, the euro currency has "become a ruthless generator of misery" for nearly all parties in the recent bailout agreement.
EU Seeks Binding Rules on Capital Markets Union

July 15, 2015

Reuters reports that European Commission officials are planning to propose binding rules on EU member states in order to hasten the process of forming a "capital markets union," which they say would facilitate the raising of money from financial markets.
EU Seeks to Back Greek Rescue Fund with UK Money

July 15, 2015

The Telegraph reports that despite a deal to the contrary struck by UK Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker plans to make the UK liable for funds used to bail out Greece by using the EU budget as collateral for short-term "bridging" loans to the country.
EU Accuses MasterCard of Overcharging for Transactions

July 14, 2015

In a recent statement, the European Commission said it suspects MasterCard of artificially raising the costs of credit card transactions, thus harming consumers and retailers in the EU, in the latest example of an American company scrutinized by EU antitrust officials.
Hague: Greece Is Only Beginning of "Euro Crisis"

July 10, 2015

Former British Member of Parliament William Hague writes that the Greek financial crisis only marks the beginning of the inevitable problems initiated by the introduction of the euro throughout widely diverging economies in Europe.
Austria: UK Nuclear Plants Violate EU Rules

July 09, 2015

The Government of Austria has filed a complaint with the Court of Justice of the EU alleging that the European Commission's approval of the construction of two nuclear power plants in the UK, intended in part to offset the country's carbon emissions, violates EU commitments to support renewable energy.
EU Report Details Plans for Economic Integration

July 07, 2015

A recent report from leaders of the EU institutions outlines plans for further economic integration of the eurozone, to be completed by the year 2025, with proposed mechanisms including a common eurozone treasury and a eurozone-wide insurance scheme for banking deposits.